Water supply systems provide potable drinking water to the population and are critical to the maintenance of many essential public services, such as fire suppression. As used in this application a water supply system includes the infrastructure for the collection, transmission, treatment, storage, and distribution of water for homes, commercial establishments, industry, and irrigation, as well as for such public needs as firefighting and street flushing. A typical water supply system includes a water source such as groundwater (aquifers), surface water (lakes and rivers), desalinated saltwater and the like. Untreated water may be transferred using uncovered ground-level aqueducts, covered tunnels or underground water pipes. The water is then purified, and treated. The treated water may be stored in reservoirs such as water tanks or water towers. Pumping stations may be used to provide additional pressure. The pressurized water is then introduced into a water distribution network. The water distribution network is a network of pipes, nodes, pumps, valves, and storage tanks. The water distribution network carries the stored water to the ultimate consumers. Consumers may include private homes, commercial buildings or industrial or institutional facilities and other usage points (such as fire hydrants). The consumer is able to access the water distribution network through a water usage connection (hookup) at the location where the water will be used.
Some water supply systems use Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) systems that measure, collect and analyze information about water usage. An AMI system interacts with devices such as meters and valves through a variety of communication media. AMI systems may include hardware, software, communications, consumer usage displays and controllers, customer associated systems, Meter Data Management (MDM) software, supplier and network distribution business systems, and the like. AMI systems have been used to control shut-off valves to isolate sections of the water supply system during main repair or replacement and for emergency shutoffs.
Interference with the water supply systems could result in serious public health and safety risks. After the terrorist attacks of Sep. 11, 2001 there are heightened concerns about the vulnerabilities of the water supply systems to attack by chemical, microbial, or radiological contamination. Despite the heightened concern, protecting water supply from attack has not been effectively addressed. In the US there are more than 160,000 public water supply systems. The variability of the water supply systems and a lack of financial resources within the water sector have been advanced as obstacles to the implementation of security programs.
Utilities that manage the water supply systems require a detection, isolation and flushing system that can be implemented easily, widely and at an affordable cost. The limited numbers of utilities that are beginning to design contaminant detection systems usually determine sensor placement based on logistical constraints (e.g., available power source, access to communications) and focus on larger pipes that serve the most customers.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has listed the characteristics necessary for an effective early warning system for monitoring water supply systems. See, “Technologies and Techniques for Early Warning Systems to Monitor and Evaluate Drinking Water Quality: A State-of-the-Art Review” EPA/600/R-05/156 (Aug. 25, 2005). Among those characteristics are rapid response; a significant degree of automation; affordable cost; robustness and ruggedness to continually operate in a water environment; remote operation and adjustment; and continuous operation. The EPA has concluded that a system with those characteristics did not exist and that affordable operation, maintenance, and capital costs were essential.
Infrastructure monitoring systems, such as, for example, “Infrastructure Monitoring System and Method” U.S. application Ser. No. 12/606,957, to Hyland et al (assigned to the assignee of the present application) have been described. The Hyland application describes an infrastructure monitoring system and method that comprises multiple monitoring devices and/or multiple output devices. Each monitoring device includes at least one sensor for collecting data, a data storage device for storing the data, a processor for analyzing the data, and a communications device for transmitting and receiving data. The system may also include an operations center for controlling and receiving data from the devices.
Fire hydrants are an accessible component of a water distribution network. For example, hydrants have been used to monitor system water pressure using pressure gauges and as an access point for leak detection devices to detect and locate leaks. Automatic flushing devices have been attached to hydrants to control chlorination levels.
There is a need for a contaminant detection, isolation, and flushing system for use in a water supply system that requires few changes to the infrastructure that is in place. Furthermore, there is a need for a contaminant detection, isolation, and flushing system that is easy to operate and is affordable. There is a need for a contaminant detection, identification, and flushing system that is scalable depending on the water supply system and threat level. There is also a need for a system capable of flushing contaminants from the water supply once contaminants have been detected, before the contaminated water reaches the users.